Press ReleaseCoronavirus Between the Authority’s Procedures and People’s Awareness(Translated)

Coronavirus is spreading in Lebanon, just as it has spread in the world from east to west. Aspects of daily life are disrupted, and the authorities are demanding that people become isolated in what is known as (social) distancing, after Lebanon - like all the world - wanted people to open up to each other without restriction or condition. People quarantine themselves voluntarily in their homes for fear of contagion, and the gatherings and groups stop, even the Sacred House of Allah and the Prophet’s Masjid, peace be upon him and his family, were empty of pilgrims and worshipers in a scene that would not have been imagined by the most skilled analysts and researchers on earth! For our Lord Almighty to rightly say: (وَخُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ ضَعِيفاً) “and man was created weak.” [An-Nisaa: 28]

The news turns from killing here and there with the machines of the colonizer and his agents, especially in Muslim countries, to the death of people in every spot because of this virus, and if the authority and its ministers in Lebanon were honest, then the number of infected people did not exceed 248 infected, with our conviction that the authority could have prevented this spread and reduced the degree of risk that the country faces today, if the authority takes the following measures:

1. Stopping trips (whether through sea, air or land), coming from the affected areas, especially China, Iran, Italy and Iraq, without political favouritism.

2. Imposing quarantine on those arriving in Lebanon from the start of the epidemic, without regard to any interventions.

3. Imposing home quarantine on everyone.

Despite that, we say: there is still time left to contain the crisis by activating the above procedures in addition to:

1. Ensuring free examination of the Corona epidemic in all regions, and not restricting it to the capital city, which would pose a risk of introducing epidemics, and there is not more accurate than the prophetic guidance towards this matter,

«لاَ تُورِدُوا المُمْرِضَ عَلَى المُصِحِّ» “A sick person should not be taken to one who is healthy.”

2. Securing the fundamentals of life for people by imposing the payment of money on banks, which have benefited and amassed funds for many years, so at least securing an amount of 500,000 pounds for anyone who stops working.

3. Distributing sterilization tools and materials free of charge to people, as many people cannot afford to buy them.

4. Preventing the monopolization of merchants and the exploitation of wealthy whales of the epidemic, and plundering what was left in people's pockets.

But if the state fails to fulfill its duties, as it happens at every point in the lives of the people in this country due to the corruption of its system and the ruling political class in it, it will lead the country and people to destruction. However, the state’s failure to play its role never exempts individuals, groups, and community activities from carrying out their role, from taking all reasons from personal and household sterilization and in neighborhoods, not gathering, not leaving the house except for necessity, and following documented instructions that have become widespread; in this regard, we mention refraining from publishing unreliable rumors and news reports due to the fear they pose, and the negative consequences that follow. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and his family and grant them peace, said:

«كَفَى بالمَرْءِ كَذِباً أَنْ يُحَدِّثَ بِكُلِّ مَا سَمِعَ» “It is enough for a man to prove himself a liar when he goes on narrating whatever he hears.”

We do not fail in this regard to remind our Ummah of its dependence on Allah to take the necessary precautions, and to arm itself with closeness to Allah, Glory be to Him, trust in Him, and seek His forgiveness, and with the Islamic creed that reassures the believer when facing the decree of Allah. Sickness is a decree from Allah that tests the faith of believers, asking Allah that it is not a punishment from him. It is an invitation for people to ask forgiveness from the Almighty, and to increase their good deeds, and to seek medication with the certainty that the healer is Allah the Almighty: (وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ) “And when I am ill, it is He who cures me.” [Ash-Shu’raa: 80]

All human beings face this pandemic, and they are in urgent need of real care from a state that really cares about the affairs of people, who need a state that cares about humanity and not just materialism and profit. Humanity today needs a Khalifah that deals with disease as a humanitarian issue in the first place, regardless of their religions, sects and ethnicities, and not a beneficial economic issue based in its treatment on the extent of the individual's benefit to the state, as happened in the "herd immunity" theory, which Britain wanted its approach in dealing with the Corona pandemic.

The world today, including Lebanon, needs a new global leadership to get people out of darkness into the light, and from the injustices of religions to the justice of Islam and its state, and it is time for its return by the permission of Allah, the Great, the Praiseworthy, especially after the lapse of 99 years since the abolition of the Khilafah of Muslims.

The official opinions of Hizb ut Tahrir are those carried in statements issued in the name of the various provincial offices (Wilayaat), the various media offices of Hizb ut Tahrir, and the statements of the official spokesmen and media representatives of Hizb ut Tahrir. Any other statements, even if published in official websites or magazines are the opinions of the authors of the articles and not those of of Hizb ut Tahrir. Permission is given to copy, quote or publish anything issued by Hizb ut Tahrir or Hizb ut Tahrir’s websites, provided the quotation or copy remains faithful to the meaning, without selective quotation that distorts the meaning or that portrays a false interpretation, and provided the quote is attributed to its source.